


The Late Idiot

by Crazy_Pairing_Person



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 07:24:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16718935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazy_Pairing_Person/pseuds/Crazy_Pairing_Person
Summary: Tanaka didn't really consider himself an 'idiot'. Not until he fell for his best friend, anyway.





	The Late Idiot

Tanaka didn't really consider himself an 'idiot'.

He knew he didn't get good grades, sure. He knew he was blunt, sometimes oblivious to certain situations. But he didn't consider himself an idiot.

Not until he saw his best friend, Nishinoya Yuu, smile as brightly as he always did, and the first thought that came to his mind was, 'God, I want to kiss him.'

His breath had hitched, his eyes had gone wide with shock, and his cheeks had felt like they were on fire.

And his best friend, his darling, excitable, oblivious best friend had barely noticed, still going on and on about how he had just beat Tanaka in a video game.

Tanaka, eventually, shook off the shock, the embarrassment, at the thought. He'd figured it wasn't something to be concerned over. Just a... Random, intrusive thought that meant nothing. So he demanded a rematch from Noya, and turned back to the television, shoving his mental image of his friend's bright smile to the back of his mind.

But it didn't stay there.

Every time he had a free moment, the image of Noya's smile, or the sound of his laugh... Something about him would flash to his mind. Whether he was in class daydreaming, at volleyball practice showing off, or at home, with or without Noya at his side.

It was driving him crazy. And there was no mistaking what was going on.

The constant thinking of him. The way his heart had been fluttering when he thought of or saw him. The butterflies flying around in his stomach when Noya touched him.

Tanaka had fallen for his best friend.

Now, that wasn't why Tanaka had realized that he was an idiot. It was pretty stupid, yes, but that didn't make him an idiot.

The reason he felt like he was an idiot was because Noya had already confessed to him once.

Last year, in fact. It had taken Tanaka a full year to catch up to the fact that he felt the same, and he...

He had already turned Noya down.

Oh, god, he'd already turned him down.

Yes, he was definitely an idiot. A late idiot, at that.

* * *

 

He looked to his side, where Noya was walking with him. They were heading to Noya's house this time, with Tanaka planning to spend the night there. Noya was rambling on and on about some video game he had gotten that he wanted to show Tanaka.

All Tanaka could focus on was the general sound of Noya's voice, though, the actual details of the game going in one ear and out the other.

Eventually, Noya raised an eyebrow up at Tanaka, and Tanaka got the sense that he'd better respond to whatever he just said. "Um... Sounds great?" he tried.

Noya immediately burst into laughter.

Tanaka blinked, staring down at Noya in shock. He ran through what little he could remember of what Noya had said, but couldn't figure out why he was laughing.

"Dude!" Noya cried out. "I just told you that the game has giant alien ants and- And you just-!" He cackled, tears streaming down his face from the laughter. "'Sounds great!' You giant bald idiot!"

Tanaka felt his cheeks burn a bright red. Now he understood. Noya had been, evidently, giving more and more ridiculous details about this game to try and see if he'd been paying attention. "Well, uh... Does it? Have giant alien ants?" he asked pathetically.

"No! What kind of game has giant fucking alien ants?!" Noya reached up, wiping away his tears. He looked up, grinning brightly in the way that he had when Tanaka first realized how he felt.

Tanaka swallowed thickly. "Noya, I have to tell you something," he forced out. "You'll probably hate me, too," he warned.

Noya blinked, and stopped laughing immediately. He frowned and crossed his arms. "What'd you do?"

Tanaka gave a bitter laugh. He averted his gaze, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Nothing. Technically." He took a deep breath. "I... I kind of..." He shifted nervously. "I kind of fell for you."

Noya blinked, eyes narrowing. "You... You fell for me," he said. Tanaka couldn't read his expression.

"Yeah. I fell for you." He swallowed thickly, and forced himself to meet Noya's gaze. "I know I'm really fucking late, since you confessed to me a whole year ago, but..." He hesitated, and took a deep, shaky breath. "Do you maybe feel the same?"

Noya ducked his head. Tanaka couldn't figure out what he was thinking.

Eventually, Noya spoke.

"No. No, I don't." He looked up at Tanaka, his gaze a hardened mask of ice. "I'm sorry, Ryuu."

Tanaka tried to swallow down the knot in his throat. Distantly, in the back of his mind, he wondered if this was how it had been for Noya, when he confessed. When he was rejected.

"It's fine," he managed to say, voice shaking just the slightest bit. "I... I hope we can still be friends."

"Of course we can," Noya said, his voice going to a softer tone, eyes showing an emotion behind them that Tanaka couldn't place. But he was saying that they could still be friends, and that was all Tanaka needed.

Tanaka nodded, gave a shaky sigh, and smiled. "Okay. Good."

And then they moved off of that subject, starting the walk towards Noya's house once more.

* * *

 

But they didn't go right back to how things were. For a friendship that had began when one of them confessed to the other, you would think that another confession would be no big deal, right?

Wrong.

Noya was more hesitant to touch Tanaka now. Tanaka was more hesitant to invite Noya over. They were both more hesitant to even smile at the other.

It was obvious to their teammates.

Too obvious, apparently.

Suga sent him to get something from the supply closet, Daichi sent Noya to the same closet, and Ennoshita delivered the final blow by locking them in.

It took a full minute of banging on the door before the two of them realized that they weren't going to get out unless everyone else let them out. Tanaka sighed, sitting down and leaning back against the door. Noya sat down as far away as he could get, leaning back against some shelves.

They stared blankly at each other, each waiting for the other to speak.

Eventually, Tanaka did.

"I'm sorry," he blurted. "I know I shouldn't have said anything. I didn't think it would fuck everything up so bad. I wouldn't have said anything if I did know."

Noya drew his knees to his chest, looking a little defensive. "Shut up, Ryuu."

"I'm just trying to apologize-"

"I said shut up!"

Tanaka snapped his mouth shut, and watched in the dim lighting as Noya hid his face in his knees.

Watched as his shoulders started to shake as he sobbed.

He'd been told, quite clearly, not to speak, so he stayed quiet, watching Noya with widened eyes.

Eventually, Noya's sobbing slowed, quieted, and he lifted his head, looking at Tanaka with tearstained cheeks and puffy eyes. "I... I-I lied, Ryuu. I lied."

Tanaka's eyes widened.

"I lied. I was so scared, I was so scared because..." Noya sniffled pathetically. "I... I've liked you for s-so long... And it just didn't seem real, that you could suddenly feel the same... I was so scared that it was a j-joke or something..." He reached up, scrubbing at his still-falling tears. "I'm so sorry, Ryuu... I'm sorry..."

Tanaka swallowed thickly. On one hand, he wanted to be furious that Noya had lied. That Noya had put him through this.

But on the other hand, he was so, so relieved.

He stood up, walking over to where Noya was sitting, and he knelt down. "Noya, hey," he said gently, to the shorter, usually more excitable one. He reached out, carefully pulling Noya's hands away from his face. "You don't have to be sorry," he whispered.

He leaned closer. "Can I kiss you?"

Immediately, Noya nodded his head.

Tanaka smiled softly. He leaned close, and pressed their lips together.

It was another thirty minutes before their teammates let them out, but they were fine with that. It gave them plenty of time to discuss their new relationship status... And to kiss, obviously.


End file.
